And to once again stir up the (paint) color vs. black and white debate, we present the following account – as true as can be….
OT 170073 was donated to the Maritime Museum at Havre de Grace, MD, about a year ago. It is a 16' OTCA, shipped to Dempsey's Boat House, which was on the Potomac in the District of Columbia, on 10 June 1960. This canoe had been hanging in a garage in eastern Virginia for many years, and when the ropes broke, it fell on its bilge, cracking about 15 consecutive ribs. It had lost its shape, and was very rough.
During this past winter it was the project of the canoe restoration class at the Havre de Grace Maritime Museum. White cedar for 8 or 9 ribs was cut, shaped, steam-bent and tacked in place. Other cracked ribs were backspliced. A template of the ‘good side’ bilge was cut and then used up against the ‘bad side’ while pressure was applied with clamps and toggle straps to pull the hull back into shape. Damaged planking was replaced; stem tips rebuilt, the inside was stripped, sanded and varnished twice preparatory to canvassing. After new canvas and a gallon of filler, sanding, and two coats of primer, with sanding between, it was ready for paint.
Ah, paint color – the OT build sheet said dark green – but there are so many green canoes. We thought we’d do something different. After all, it was going to be a ‘raffle boat’ so some color more eye-catching than dark green. A look at color swatches from Sherwin-Williams offered “Outgoing Orange” – a pleasant color, not too orange, but decidedly different from green.
After the paint dried, it didn't exactly have the shade we thought we had selected from the paint store color card! Outgoing Orange looked more like our favorite hot weather treat: orange and ice cream on a stick - a Creamsicle - and this resulted in the canoe sort of choosing its own name - Creamsicle. This dictated its final finish: new outwales were cut from light wood and left natural, and a highlight line and cream colored custom decal were applied. The decal provided not only the name – Creamsicle - but also a drawing of a ‘sicle’ with a bite taken out!
Near the end of July, the Creamsicle was raffled off to raise funds for the Havre de Grace Maritime Museum. Early estimates are that the raffle raised 10 to 15% more than normal – largely due to the unique color and name of the canoe. She's one of a kind, and with TLC, ready for another 50 years of paddling.
B&W just wouldn’t convey the message, so here she is……
Submitted by Bud Gillis & Tom McCloud, Upper Chesapeake chapter WCHA.
OT 170073 was donated to the Maritime Museum at Havre de Grace, MD, about a year ago. It is a 16' OTCA, shipped to Dempsey's Boat House, which was on the Potomac in the District of Columbia, on 10 June 1960. This canoe had been hanging in a garage in eastern Virginia for many years, and when the ropes broke, it fell on its bilge, cracking about 15 consecutive ribs. It had lost its shape, and was very rough.
During this past winter it was the project of the canoe restoration class at the Havre de Grace Maritime Museum. White cedar for 8 or 9 ribs was cut, shaped, steam-bent and tacked in place. Other cracked ribs were backspliced. A template of the ‘good side’ bilge was cut and then used up against the ‘bad side’ while pressure was applied with clamps and toggle straps to pull the hull back into shape. Damaged planking was replaced; stem tips rebuilt, the inside was stripped, sanded and varnished twice preparatory to canvassing. After new canvas and a gallon of filler, sanding, and two coats of primer, with sanding between, it was ready for paint.
Ah, paint color – the OT build sheet said dark green – but there are so many green canoes. We thought we’d do something different. After all, it was going to be a ‘raffle boat’ so some color more eye-catching than dark green. A look at color swatches from Sherwin-Williams offered “Outgoing Orange” – a pleasant color, not too orange, but decidedly different from green.
After the paint dried, it didn't exactly have the shade we thought we had selected from the paint store color card! Outgoing Orange looked more like our favorite hot weather treat: orange and ice cream on a stick - a Creamsicle - and this resulted in the canoe sort of choosing its own name - Creamsicle. This dictated its final finish: new outwales were cut from light wood and left natural, and a highlight line and cream colored custom decal were applied. The decal provided not only the name – Creamsicle - but also a drawing of a ‘sicle’ with a bite taken out!
Near the end of July, the Creamsicle was raffled off to raise funds for the Havre de Grace Maritime Museum. Early estimates are that the raffle raised 10 to 15% more than normal – largely due to the unique color and name of the canoe. She's one of a kind, and with TLC, ready for another 50 years of paddling.
B&W just wouldn’t convey the message, so here she is……
Submitted by Bud Gillis & Tom McCloud, Upper Chesapeake chapter WCHA.
